Chicken Pie

This cooler weather just makes me so happy.  I know, I'm strange, but I loved autumn with it's crisp mornings and sunny days and the draw of winter not far away, and here we are 2 days in.  I love cosying up on the couch with a good book while the wind and rain play havoc outside.  Pass me the slow cooker or whack the oven on and I'm a goner~it's comfort food time.

I'm not sure why I forget to make pies as they are super easy and always a hit.  I was reading Kathy's post here  about her super cute looking chicken and leek individual pies and so I got inspired to whip out the pie dish.  I didn't have any leeks but I grabbed some spring onions that had been let go in there pot outside a bit long, just perfect.  I also had a couple of corn cobs that needed using up.  That's the thing with this recipe, it is so versitile.  It could be made with just all the vegies left in the crisper, sauted up in lots of butter and garlic for a vegetarian option.  As long as you stick to the principles of the veloute sauce, you can let your ingredients run riot.  A veloute sauce is a sauce made with stock, butter and flour and is extremely versitile and velvety delicious without the naughtiness of a full cream sauce.

I honestly shake my head in denial most nights at the dinner table.  As you are well aware I lurve food as does my husband but do you think I can get my 7 year old to eat anything other than potato, corn and sometimes pumpkin? Yes she'll have avocado and a mountain of fruit but try and convince her that broccoli or carrots are amazballs tasty, no way Jose. So here I sneak as much in as I dare by serving this scrummy pie with my 3 veg mash potato.

Chicken, spring onion and corn pie
500g chicken free range chicken thighs, or left over roast chicken
4-5 white ends of good sized spring onion or 2 leeks
1-2 corn cobs, corn kernels sliced off
50g butter and a glug of evoo
400ml chicken stock, from stock powder is fine if you don't have fresh
2 tbsps plain flour
1 sheet puff pastry

• slice up your chicken thigh into bite size pieces.  I like to use kitchen scissors for this. Finely slice your spring onions and get all of your ingredients out ready.

• heat the evoo in a fry pan and fry the chicken.  Season with salt and pepper.  You may want to do this in batches as you don't want to stew the pieces, you are looking to create a golden colour to seal in the juices on each piece.  Take chicken out and keep the oil and juices in the pan.
• In the same pan, add the butter and saute the spring onion and corn without adding any colour.  Season with salt and peper.  After 5 minutes add the flour and cook out for 1 minute, stirring all the time.  Gradually add the stock until you have the thickness you desire.  You don't want it too thick or too thin, it should coat the back of a spoon easily.  Test for seasoning.

• Add the chicken back into the sauce along with any juices.  Mix through the sauce.  

• In a 20cm pie dish (approximately), pour in the chicken mixture.  You can cool it at this stage if you don't need the pie straight away or freeze it also for another time.

• Defrost 1 sheet of puff pastry and top the pie dish, using egg wash or milk to coat the pastry to get it lovely and golden.  

• Place in a 200c oven for 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve with my 3 veg mash - potato, sweet potato and pumpkin and dive in.
Some of the variations I like to make are:

• chicken, bacon and mushroom
• tinned salmon tossed through the veloute (use fish stock in the veloute if you have it), asparagus and spinach (also great with mashed potato on top instead of the pastry
• chicken, thyme, spinach and potato ( blanch diced potato in boiling water for 4-5 minutes first)
• left over roasted vegetables, semi-dried tomatoes, rocket and fresh herb (thyme leaves, parsely, mint and oregano added to sauce at the last minute
• soft boiled egg with curry powder, parsley, potato and tuna

Be guided by whats in season and either growing in your garden or from the green grocers as to what you put in. This is going to be back on our weekly menu this winter.

It's week 23 of the 52 week money challenge, we are almost half way through the year! I must confess, I'm finding it a challenge keeping up as the numbers are getting bigger but I'm doing what I can :D

A bit of an update on my crochet.  I am very proud to show my first ever granny square!  I learnt from this granny square tutorial here that is very easy to follow for anyone who would like to give it a try. Now to practice and start my rug :D

Ciao, Jan.

Super duper Sausage Rolls

Puff pastry, such a wonderful thing isn't it. Can make a boring old thing into a pie or roll delight.  But making it from scratch can be challenging and labour intensive.  I need to run my freezer supply down and try some of this Careme Pastry which is a family run company in the Barossa Valley that uses all local ingredients, using traditional French techniques, do any of you use it? I can't wait to get some.

I've been making sausage rolls for the freezer for those nights when you get home late and need something quick and easy. Pair it up with some defrosted soup and you are on a winner.  I love adding a fair bit of extra vegies to them too, and served with my don't tell them its not pumpkin soup pumpkin soup, you'll be filling the kiddo's with loads of vegies, but that can be our little secret.  

I tend to use a mixture of beef, pork and veal but you could also make them with chicken mince. Try and buy good quality mince, lean is even better, I avoid sausage mince at all costs as I hate to think what has been blended up to make that hideous looking stuff. For an extra easy version, use a good quality sausage, like a pork Cumberland (Aldi do some rippers), and wrap them skin and all in the puff pastry and you will be in sausage roll virtuous heaven.

Sausage Rolls

1 kg mince - I tend to use a mixture of beef and pork or veal but could also make with chicken mince

3/4 cup or so  of half breadcrumbs and half cous cous(I use wholemeal) or just all breadcrumbs

squirt of tomato sauce or chilli sauce or bbq/hp sauce

1 egg

2 carrots 

1 zucchini 

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

handful of parsley

2 rashers of bacon, excess fat removed

s & p, be generous

4-6 sheets of puff pastry, I like to use one with less fat 

1/2 milk for brushing and sealing your rolls

Take puff pastry out of freezer to defrost.  Should only take a few minutes if you seperate them.  In a large bowl put mince, breadcrumbs/cous cous and eggs.  Blitz all the vegies and bacon in the food processor, such a time saver.

 Mix all ingredients really well.  Make the sausage rolls what ever size you want, but I normally get 2 rolls per sheet.  Brush the edges with milk before sealing.  

I re-roll them in the film that is between the frozen pastry sheets and freeze them in freezer bags.  

You can cook them and then freeze but definately a better result freezing in the raw.    When using frozen ones, defrost and then brush with milk and top them with sesame seeds or paprika or poppyseeds or cayenne pepper for a chilli hit.  Bake at 200c until golden brown, approx 20 mins. 

 I love them with my homemade chutney, but you will have to wait until summer to get that recipe....maybe.

Ciao, Jan

Go Pies!

This wintery weather is making me crave lots of yummy things. And there is just something cheeky and yummy about a pie, especially a mini pie, it means you can eat more than one as they are small and delicate, right?

I made these over the weekend with cries of 'more, more' from the family, but beware they are quiet full on with over an egg a piece, but just try stopping at two!  I like vegetarian options and had a zucchini to use up so made some grilled zucchini and feta pies just for me, and they were a yummo.
If you don't have puff pastry, you can make these with slices of bread, crusts off, cut with a pastry cutter into a round shape and roll out with a rolling pin and use as pastry.

Great to make if you have a lot of people coming for breakfast or with soup on a rainy Sunday night for dinner like we did.  I can tell you now, they didn't make breakfast the next day.

mini egg and bacon pies ~ makes 8

1 egg 

1/2 cup sour cream
dash of milk

salt & pepper
4 rashers of bacon, keep eye whole but chop up ends

8 eggs, one for each pie

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed and each sheet cut into 4

Preheat oven to 200c. Spray your 12 whole muffin tray with cooking spray. Place pastry into holes, overlapping at corners if needed. In a pan fry the bacon, I used a grill pan which gave it a nice chargrilled look.  Cut the eye's in half.  Mix together the sour cream, 1 egg, salt & pepper and a dash of milk in a jug for easy pouring.  (you can make these without the sourcream mixture) Evenly put the chopped bacon in the bottom of the pastry cases.  Add a dollop of sourcream mix, not too much, maybe a tablespoons worth.  Crack a whole egg into each pastry case. Put the eye bacon around the egg in a circle. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Place in oven for 15 minutes or so. Make sure there is still a wobble in the egg, you want it to be still a little runny. Or if you want a hard egg, leave for a little longer.  Allow to cool for a minute in tray then onto a wire rack. 

For the zucchini & fetta ones ~ Slice zucchini into angled rounds and fry in grill pan with salt & pepper and thyme.  Place a few strips in each pastry case and pour sourcream mixture half way and add some crumbled feta and a strip or two more of zucchini.  Place in oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool for a minute in the tray then onto a wire rack. Serve with a sprig of mint on top and homemade chutney.

These pies are so simple.  A sin really.  You could make these with anything you have in the cupboars or fridge; grilled vegies & olives, bacon,egg & sundried tomato, salmon & avocado, tuna & corn, cooked leftover potato, spinach & parmesan, roasted mushroom & feta....I could go on and on....let your imagination run wild really, but add some herbs too.

I made this take on tomato and onion pie my nan makes a few nights ago. I had a few ingredients I needed to use up; some tomatoes, the butt of the bread I made on the weekend, and half a red onion.

After a trip to the garden, I found some herbs, mint, oregano & thyme, and some spinach and beetroot leaves.  I popped it in layers with the bread made into crumbs with some garlic infused olive oil drizzle over it, s & p and a few dobs of butter....delicious!

above is the first layer, then put spinach & beetroot leaves,
then more tomatoes then bread crumbs & herbs

Bake in the oven at 200c for 35-40minutes, is a great side dish to your Sunday roast too.  I had it the next day for lunch tossed through some penne pasta which was tasty.

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Just an update on the decluttering challenge. Sadly, a house was badly damaged by fire in our local community last Friday and our school put a call out yesterday for groceries and linen.  So I've parted with 6 towels, 4 tea towels  a few face washers, a single bed woolen underlay and a few bags of groceries from my stockpile which I had grown these past few months.  What a blessing to have them on hand to give away. My heart goes out to this family of 5 children and made the giving of my things an easy decision, the attachment went straight away.  If you live in my area and have anything worthwhile to donate to this family, please private message me through my link to 'a gluttonous wife' on facebook and I will make sure it gets to them.  

How are you going with your decluttering?

Ciao, Jan